Could 2014 hold Microsoft Office support for Linux?

Linux on the up

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Will 2013 be the year of Linux? Maybe not, but then 2014 could certainly pick up that scepter instead.

A rumor appeared earlier this week that Microsoft is developing its first ever native Linux program, a Microsoft Office port that could be ready by 2014. Office for Android is already in development, and since Android is a Linux-based OS, it will be that much easier to get Office onto Ubuntu or another Linux distribution.

The report came by way of Phoronix, which was tipped off by an unnamed source at the Free Open-Source Developers' European Meeting (FOSDEM) in Brussels over the weekend.

If true, it would mark the first time that Microsoft deigned to develop anything for Linux, besides its Hyper-V virtualization for enterprise.

Why the change of heart?

Microsoft has so far mostly ignored Linux, but the open source operating system has been on the rise recently.